FRONA S. ROSS with FARLEY & SASSY

Lauden Vergara began rescuing about 12 yrs ago and admits that while it has resulted in having both tears of joy and sadness, she wouldn’t give it up for anything. She thrives on helping one dog at a time and vows to continue doing all she can. She laments that although sometimes it feels like reducing the number of dogs in need will never happen, she stays strong and fights for those that can’t fight for themselves, those without a voice. Her mantra is “…rescue isn’t easy, but it sure is worth it.”

Alan Bradley, has followed in his brother’s footsteps as he too loves dogs and like Anthony, has a strong interest in technology and social media. Alan says the Bradley Brothers had always wanted a dog and since getting their rat terrier mix, Mia, they don’t mind that she is now their parent’s favorite child! With Anthony’s guidance, they have worked together helping to increase community awareness of Will’s Way which has made it possible to reach more people, shorten the time it takes to make a good dog paw-rent match, and increase the number of adoptions. 

 Yamel Reyes has always been passionate about animals. She was the proud mama to two beautiful Yorkies, Mauricio and Isabella for almost 16 years. Both had unique personalities. While she has two human daughters, she considered Mauricio and Isabella her children also. When she lost them, she became involved in the rescue world. That is how she came to adopt her present “son”, Leo. He is the sweetest pup who had just lost his human mom. They were a perfect match. She kept looking online for other lost and abandoned dogs to help and saw a picture of two senior Yorkies that looked just like her dogs in heaven. She called about 10 rescue organizations, but they all said they did not have the room or funds to help, as the dogs were very sick. One of the rescues provided her with Frona’s contact information and Frona said yes, she’d take them into the rescue. They received all the medical attention they needed, while Yamel fostered them and when they were healthy, were placed together in the most wonderful home. Yamel has been a Will’s Way Warrior rescuing, fostering, and fundraising, ever since. 

Amelia grew up on a vegetable farm, as a vegetarian, and she was taught animal life should be highly valued. She learned that lesson well. She has always had an inclination towards helping and loving all “critters”, but started rescuing while in college by doing TNR (Trap, Neuter-Spay, Return) with stray cats. She would also take in mother cats and their kittens, get them vetted using her own money and adopt them to the best homes possible. Amelia formed such a strong bond with those that weren't adoptable due to medical issues, or who had been abandoned by their “families”, that she wound up caring for them for the rest of their lives. Amelia has to travel through high speed but low volume roads to get to work. Many dogs are dumped along those roads and Amelia can’t drive by without stopping to help. The same thing happened on I-595 when she saw a pitbull dodging traffic. Amelia stopped traffic and, with the help of another Good Samaritan, risked her own safety to get the dog into her car. Successful, she called Bella, who she knew was part of a rescue, and offered to foster the dog, who was in really bad shape, if Bella would accept her into the rescue. Bella did and the dog, now known as Coco, has since been treated for heartworm and parasites, and is scheduled to be spayed and have mammary masses removed in November, if she is strong enough. Coco is headed to a happy ending and we are grateful to have Amelia as part of the Will’s Way Rescue team.